Juanda International Airport

Juanda International Airport (IATA: SUB, ICAO: WARR) is a joint-use international airport serving Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. It is found in the Sedati District of Sidoarjo. Today, it ranks as the third busiest airport in Indonesia, right after Jakarta's Soekarno–Hatta and Denpasar's Ngurah Rai. The airport is about 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from the centre of Surabaya and serves the whole Surabaya metropolitan area.

The airport is run by InJourney Airports, though it used to be managed by Angkasa Pura I. It is named after Djuanda Kartawidjaja (1911–1963), the last Prime Minister of Indonesia, who helped develop the airport. In 2019, Juanda handled around 500 airplanes each day.

Juanda International Airport is an important place for several airlines. It is the main airport for Batik Air and Citilink, a key place for Garuda Indonesia, and the home base for Lion Air and Super Air Jet, just like Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. The airport will play a big role in Indonesia’s plans for Open skies in the ASEAN area.

Even though InJourney Airports manages the regular flights, the land belongs to the Indonesian Navy. The passenger building is used for civilian flights, but the airport also shares space with Naval Air Station Juanda, a big and important base for the Indonesian Navy. It also has Muljono Air Force Base, which is run by the Indonesian Air Force.

History

The first airport in Surabaya was in the Darmo area. It started in the early 1920s when people were trying to improve air travel in the Dutch East Indies. It was used for flights within Java and even some international flights, like a plane stopping there in 1934 on a trip from Australia to the United Kingdom. But as more airports were built nearby, Darmo was used less and stopped being an airport by the 1940s.

Before Juanda Airport opened, another airport called Morokrembangan was used. It was busy, but there wasn’t enough space to grow. In the early 1960s, Indonesia needed a new airport to support important plans, so they chose a place called Sedati because it had lots of flat land.

Building the new airport, called Project Waru, was a big job. It was finished earlier than expected, in 1963, and named after a leader who helped solve money problems during building.

Soon after, flights started moving from the old airport to Juanda. In 1981, a government group took over running the airport, and in 1985, another group began managing it.

As more people wanted to fly, a new international terminal opened in 1990. More terminals were added in 2006 and 2014 to handle even more travelers.

Facilities and development

Terminals

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 opened on November 7, 2006, to help handle more travelers at Juanda International Airport. It cost about Rp 1.2 trillion to build. The terminal covers 51,500 square meters and has three floors with 11 jet bridges for easy boarding. It mixes traditional styles from Sumbanese high-hat roofs with Javanese-Malay designs. Terminal 1 only handles domestic flights and has two parts: Terminal 1A for departures and Terminal 1B for arrivals. It connects directly to the Waru–Juanda Toll Road, which opened in 2008.

In October 2021, Terminal 1 was expanded to handle 8.7 million passengers each year. The area grew to 91,700 square meters, with more space for shopping and waiting. Two play areas for children were added, and there are now more escalators, elevators, and moving walkways to help travelers move around easier.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 opened on February 14, 2014, after the old terminal was torn down. It cost about Rp 900 billion to build. Unlike Terminal 1, Terminal 2 has a modern look and covers 49,500 square meters. It can handle up to six million passengers a year and has eight aerobridges.

Terminal 2 has 40 check-in counters, space for shops and offices, and can hold up to 17 airplanes. It also has a parking area for 5,000 vehicles. Currently, Terminal 2 handles all international flights. Some domestic flights used to use this terminal, but they moved to Terminal 1 in 2023.

Cargo terminal

A new cargo terminal started working on December 1, 2022. It is 3,500 square meters and was built with help from Juanda International Airport and PT Jasa Angkasa Semesta Tbk (JAS). This terminal can store more goods for export and import, making Juanda better for cargo flights.

Development

On February 25, 2015, President Joko Widodo approved plans to build Juanda Airport City. This includes two new runways and a train connection to Gubeng Railway Station. About 6,000 hectares of land were set aside for this project. One part will have two new runways and Terminal 3, which could handle 62.5 million passengers a year. With Terminals 1 and 2, the airport could handle 75 million passengers each year.

The new area for the airport will be 1,700 hectares and is in the northern part of the airport. Building two runways will need filling in about 4 kilometers of the sea coast. Getting the land for this project was expected to finish in 2018, but building has not started yet because of challenges with the sea reclamation and permits.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Juanda International Airport is used by many airlines for travelers going to and from Surabaya. The airport connects people to many places around the world.

Traffic

In 2010, the airport served 11 million passengers. However, its official capacity was only 6 million passengers. The air traffic controller radar system could track 21 aircraft each hour, but during busy times, the airport managed 40 to 45 aircraft landings and takeoffs each hour.

Naval Air Station Juanda

Juanda International Airport is also the home of Naval Air Station Juanda, the biggest air base for the Indonesian Navy. This airbase is found south of the runway and east of Terminal 2. It has hangars and tools to help keep the navy’s airplanes ready for flight.

The airbase has many groups of airplanes, such as the 100th Anti-Submarine Squadron with AS565 MBe Panther helicopters, the 200th Training Squadron with SOCATA TB-9 Tampico, EC120B Colibri, and Beechcraft Bonanza G36 airplanes, the 600th Rapid Logistics Squadron with CASA C-212-200 Aviocar planes, the 700th UAV Squadron with Boeing Insitu MQ-27 ScanEagle drones, and the 800th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron with CASA CN-235-220 MPA airplanes.

The airbase also has a museum. Inside, you can see small models of fighter airplanes, old pilot uniforms, and pictures showing important moments in navy airplane history. There are also real airplane displays, including a Boeing 737-400.

Ground transportation

Juanda Airport has good road connections. It is linked to Surabaya by the Waru–Juanda Toll Road, which connects to other toll roads. You can also reach the airport by car on Jalan Raya Waru or Jalan Letjen S. Parman.

There are bus services from the airport to several terminals in the area, starting from November 2006. These buses go to Purabaya Terminal, Bunder Terminal, and Kertajaya Terminal, with different schedules for each route. You can book tickets using an app or buy them at the departure points.

There are plans to add a railway line to the airport. This idea has been studied for a long time, and in 2018, the Ministry of Transportation suggested building a rail connection. By 2027, they hope to connect Juanda Airport to the Surabaya–Sidoarjo Commuter Line. This project is part of a bigger plan supported by Germany and the United Kingdom. The train would start at Waru Station and go to the airport. For now, these plans are still being studied, and the exact start date is not known yet.